| Jim Balent | |
|---|---|
 Balent photographed with his wife, Holly Golightly, at the MegaCon comic book convention | |
| Area | Writer, Penciller, Inker, Editor, Publisher |
Notable works | Catwoman Tarot: Witch of the Black Rose |
| Spouse | Holly Golightly |
| www | |
Jim Balent (/ˈbælənt/)[1] is an American comics artist, writer, and publisher from Pennsylvania. He is best known for his long run on Catwoman between 1993 and 1999. Balent has also drawn Batman and Lobo for DC Comics, as well as some of the issues of Purgatori for the independent comic book publisher Chaos! Comics.
Career
editBalent's early work for DC Comics includes backup stories in Sgt. Rock such as "The Deadliest Casualty" in issue #393 (October 1984) and "The Ninja" in #397 (February 1985).[2] An Atom story drawn by Balent was published as a Bonus Book in Power of the Atom #4 (November 1988).[3] Balent and writer Jo Duffy launched an ongoing Catwoman series in August 1993.[4] Balent drew Catwoman through issue #77 (February 2000).[2] He and writer Chuck Dixon created Geist in Detective Comics Annual #6 (1993).[5] As the artist of Catwoman, Balent worked on several Batman crossover stories including "Contagion",[6] "Cataclysm",[7] and "No Man's Land".[8] In 1999, Balent left mainstream comics to form his own company, BroadSword Comics, which publishes Tarot: Witch of the Black Rose, written and drawn by Balent himself.[2] In an interview with Project Fanboy, a comic book website, Balent spoke of his interest in both entertaining as well as educating his readers about the folklore and actual theology of Wicca and witchcraft with interviews with leading witch authors and spells from witches around the world.[9] Balent drew a retailer exclusive variant cover for Batman vol. 3 #50 (September 2018) for Jetpack Comics / Forbidden Planet.[10]
Awards
editOn March 1, 2009, Balent's company, BroadSword Comics, won three of the 25 categories in the inaugural Project Fanboy Awards and was nominated for ten other categories at the MegaCon convention. His title Tarot: Witch of the Black Rose won in the categories of "Best Title" and "Best Indy Title", and the character Raven Hex from the aforementioned title won in the category of "Best Indy Villain".[11]
Bibliography
editBroadSword Comics
edit- 3 Little Kittens: Purrr-fect Weapons #1–3 (2002)
- Tarot: Witch of the Black Rose #1–145 (2000–As of May 2025[update])
Chaos Comics
edit- Purgatori: Prelude #1 (1996)
- Purgatori: The Vampires Myth #1–3 (1996)
Dark Horse Comics
edit- Dark Horse Presents #71–73 (1993)
DC Comics
edit- Batman #507 (1994)
- Batman 80-Page Giant #2 (1999)
- Batman: Batgirl #1 (1998)
- Batman: Brotherhood of the Bat #1 (1995)
- Catwoman vol. 2 #1–30, 33–77, #0, #1000000, Annual #2; #31–32 (layouts) (1993–2000)
- Catwoman/Vampirella: The Furies #1 (1997)
- Catwoman: Guardian of Gotham #1–2 (1999)
- Darkstars #7 (1993)
- Detective Comics #660, Annual #6 (1993)
- Green Lantern Corps Quarterly #4–6 (1993)
- Green Lantern: Mosaic #9 (1993)
- Legends of the Dark Claw #1 (1996)
- Lobo's Big Babe Spring Break Special #1 (1995)
- Power of the Atom #4 (Bonus Book) (1988)
- Sgt. Rock #393, 397 (backup stories) (1984–1985)
- Showcase '95 #4 (Catwoman) (1995)
First Comics
edit- Evangeline #11–12 (1989)
- Nexus #42 (1988)
Harris Comics
edit- Vampirella #1–3 (1992–1993)
References
edit- ^ Jim Balent & Holly G! Vienna Comicon 2017. YouTube. November 9, 2017. Archived from the original on December 1, 2021.
- ^ a b c Jim Balent at the Grand Comics Database
- ^ Greenberger, Robert (April 2014). "New Talent and Bonus Babies". Back Issue! (71). Raleigh, North Carolina: TwoMorrows Publishing: 71–73.
- ^ Manning, Matthew K. (2010). "1990s". In Dolan, Hannah (ed.). DC Comics Year By Year A Visual Chronicle. London, United Kingdom: Dorling Kindersley. p. 260. ISBN 978-0-7566-6742-9.
Selina Kyle finally stole the spotlight in her first ongoing series by writer Jo Duffy and artist Jim Balent.
- ^ Manning, Matthew K. (2014). "1990s". In Dougall, Alastair (ed.). Batman: A Visual History. London, United Kingdom: Dorling Kindersley. p. 204. ISBN 978-1465424563.
A hero with invisibility powers debuted thanks to writer Chuck Dixon and artist Jim Balent.
- ^ Manning "1990s" in Dougall, p. 220
- ^ Manning "1990s" in Dougall, p. 232
- ^ Manning "1990s" in Dougall, p. 240
- ^ Grant, Matt (May 13, 2008). "Jim Balent Interview!". Project Fanboy. Archived from the original on March 5, 2016.
- ^ Johnston, Rich (June 8, 2018). "More Batman #50 Covers by Josh Middleton, Francesco Mattina, Jock, Joe Madureira, and More". Bleeding Cool. Archived from the original on August 8, 2018.
- ^ "The Project Fanboy Awards". Project Fanboy. 2009. Archived from the original on April 8, 2009.
External links
edit- Official website
- Jim Balent at the Comic Book DB (archived from the original)
- Jim Balent at Mike's Amazing World of Comics
